The Holy Bible in Lao Common Language [Leather Bound]

Product Details

• Leather Bound: 2398 pages
• Publisher: American Bible Society (December 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9748183173
• ISBN-13: 978-9748183176
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.6 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,381,606 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lao Shorter Old Testament and New Testament, August 27, 2003

By 

Brent Soderborg (El Cerrito, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Holy Bible in Lao Common Language (Leather Bound)

This is an excellent translation of the Bible into Lao, especially the New Testament (this version has the complete New Testament and only part of the Old Testament). The text is very well done - the language is easily understandable, yet still elegant in the way that I think scripture should be. Kudos to the translators for taking what can be complex (baffling?) scriptural grammar (at least in English) and making it comprehensible and clear in Lao.

The only two complaints I have are relatively minor, and they relate to formatting rather than substance. First, the font used in the New Testament can sometimes be slightly awkward to read at first as it is fairly clunky. But you can get used to that over time and with familiarity (just like trying to read my handwriting, actually). Second, the verses are not clearly numbered - the numbers are all along the left margin, so sometimes you are left to wonder exactly where one verse ends and the next begins (this is exacerbated by the structure of Lao writing, where words run together and breaks are used much like commas and periods are used in English).

Overall, a very good translation - I personally prefer this one to the newer translation done in the Lao Common Language because I think the language used allows more reflection into the deeper meanings of many verses.